


Of Hospital Beds and Springs

by GreenBread



Series: Escapades of Clementine and Violet [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Hospital, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, One-Legged Clementine (Walking Dead), Parent Lee Everett, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:13:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25457569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenBread/pseuds/GreenBread
Summary: When Clementine woke up from her rather admittedly short coma and found herself missing leg, she didn't expect to be the one comforting a crying mess of a girlfriend. Her life was weird like that.Seriously though, was Violet ever going to stop blaming herself? She wasn't driving the car that hit her after all.
Relationships: AJ | Alvin Jr. & Clementine (Walking Dead), Clementine & Lee Everett, Clementine/Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Series: Escapades of Clementine and Violet [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1843918
Kudos: 65





	1. 1

Slowly, her amber eyes cracked open, flickering in quick and feverish blinks. She squinted at the harsh bright light of the hospital stabbing her eyes. Clementine groaned and moved her arm to cover her eyes but found herself unable to. Wires bled through the surface her tanned skin, trapping and constricting her to a position. Her nose crinkled up at the foreign feeling of something being stuck up her nostrils. The steady beeps of her heartbeat snuck into her ears like worms. 

A small vase of flowers resided on the bedside next to her. Feebly, she reached her hand out and brushed a petal. Plastic. A lonely wheelchair sat in the corner and she couldn't help but wonder why. She gazed at her reflection in the window. A bandage was wrapped around her head, the side clotted with dried blood. 

The weight on her waist shifted and she looked down. It was Violet. Her dirty blonde hair covering her usually stunning emerald eyes that were now replaced with puffy bags. Like she had recently been crying. Had she been crying for her?

The blonde's mouth was open and the hints of drool dribbled out. Clementine chuckled. She looked like a dog. A snore echoed out of Violet's maw and Clementine giggled. She didn't know why she was finding it so funny. Her girly giggles quickly turned into a coughing fit, however. Her throat felt drier than a desert.

Violet startled and looked at the other girl, her eyes wide. Her face quickly morphed into a grin. "Clem? You're awake!" 

She coughed, "Full marks for observation." 

"D-Do you need some water?" 

"Yes, please." She croaked. Violet nodded and swiftly stood, wiping her hair out of her eyes. She bounced across the room and grabbed a small plastic cup of water. The blonde lifted the cup to Clementine's lips. 

At Clementine's confused look, she explained. "You can't hold it." 

"Right, yeah... I'm an idiot."

"You aren't, Clem." 

"I feel like one." 

"Just shut up and drink." 

"Yes, Madame," Clementine replied. She would've mock saluted if she could. She opened her mouth and let the liquid flow down her scratchy throat. She gulped down the fluid and like a well-oiled machine, Violet moved the cup away, placing it on the bedside table with a tiny clink.

"Better?" Violet inquired, leaning over to plant a gentle kiss on her girlfriend's cheek that lasted for a couple of seconds. 

Clementine smiled like a lovestruck idiot, large and wide. "Much. Thanks." 

"Don't thank me, It's the least I could do," Violet responded, brushing a stray lock of curly brown hair out of the brunette's face. They stared into each other's pools. "I'm glad you're awake."

"Shockingly, me too." 

Violet snorted and perched on her wooden seat in comfortable silence. The traffic of nurses and doctors on the other side of the frosted door rushed past in noisy flashes. 

"How long was I out?" She asked, her voice teetering on the edges of concern and worry. 

"Only twenty-two hours." 

"Injuries?" 

Violet glanced away. Haunts of guilt flooded the back of her eyes. 

"Vi...?" 

"I..." Violet swallowed the lump at the back of her throat. "It's easier if I show you. Brace yourself." 

Clementine watched as Violet's hands fumbled for the edges of the covers. Asking for permission, Violet looked at her. She nodded and steeled herself as Violet dragged the covers down. Her breath hitched at what she saw. 

Her leg was gone. Nothing was below the knee. Just a bandaged stump and remnants of raw flesh poking out from beneath like a kernel stuck between your teeth. 

Viles of boiling panic surged like electricity through her veins, suffocating her. The monitor recording her heartbeat beeped rapidly as she descended into a panic attack, filling the room with loud, shrill cries. Her limbs slashed wildly into the air, ripping out wires. She was faintly aware of Violet's warm breath settling over her face, muttering sweet nothings. She barely registered the sounds escaping her lips or of the door being barged open. She watched as the blurry figure of her girlfriend backed away, being replaced by the masked face of a nurse. 

Something pricked in her neck and like a light switch, she stopped thrashing, dark hiding in the sides of her sightlines. Her eyes drooped and she crescendoed back into unconsciousness. Finally letting the dark seeps at the end of her vision consume her. 

* * *

Violet watched as Clementine's amber orbs widened as the sight of her missing leg before she started to hyperventilate. Her eyes went distant and unfocused, staring at something that wasn't there. Violet panicked as the heartrate monitor picked up, the noise hurting her ears. Her neck snapped to her girlfriend, who was now thrashing wildly. She rushed over to her girlfriend as she ripped the wires forcefully out of her arms, making the monitor flatline.

"Hey, hey," She whispered into Clementine's ear, brushing her hair behind the hearing appendage. "You're okay, you're okay. I got you, babe." 

"V-Vi... M-My leg-" 

Violet's heart broke. Clementine was terrified, beads of sweat falling and dripping off her forehead like a waterfall. "You're okay, we're okay. I love you, Clem. Nothing's going to change that." 

Clementine continued to thrash like a fish out of water as she went deeper and deeper into her panic attack. Violet's eyes softened and suddenly the door burst open. The female nurse analysed the situation and quickly bolted over to a drawer, pulling out a needle. She manoeuvred it between her bony fingers. 

"What're you-" 

"Move." The nurse demanded. Violet nodded and quickly retreated to the corner of the room. She watched as the nurse jammed the needle into Clementine's neck, making her go still almost instantly. 

"What did you do?" She asked meekly, glancing at Clementine's unconscious form. 

"Sedative," The nurse responded instantly, "I would've done it in the arm but she was moving too much. Look, you're going to have to leave while we monitor the situation and set the wires back in."

Violet nodded shallowly and glanced at the floor. On one hand, she didn't want to leave Clementine alone. She didn't want her to wake up and have no-one around. On the other hand, the nurse was a professional and knew what she was doing. 

Conflicted, the blonde eventually relented to the other woman's command and left. Shutting the door softly behind her, listening as it clicked. She turned around. The hallway was empty, all aside for Lee and AJ, who were watching her curiously. Lee had his arm draped over AJ's tiny shoulder. They were both sat on the awkwardly small bench opposite the door. 

"What happened?" Lee asked worriedly, AJ nodding to his question. 

"She saw her leg," Violet supplied, slipping into the seat beside Lee. "She... didn't take it very well." 

Lee noticed her sad look, "Don't blame yourself." 

Violet snorted, "Kinda hard not to. I'm the reason she's in that fucking room." 

"Clem wouldn't want you to. She knew what she was doing when she pushed you out of the way. If you want to blame anyone, blame the fuck that was driving that car. He shouldn't have been drunk driving."

"Still..." Violet protested, "I should've reacted faster." 

"We all should've reacted faster. Clem was just the fastest." 

"And she wasted it saving me. She took the brunt of it pushing me out of the way and you and AJ only got nicked cuz she pushed you too."

"We all owe her our lives. No doubt about it." 

Violet nodded, unable to argue with the man. "Is Kenny-" 

"He can't. He texted me. He wants to but his job involves being out at sea for large portions of time and he lives in a different state. I'm sure he's trying to make it out here."

"I don't know how the bastard does it but he always seems to know what to say to get people to calm down." She smiled. 

"That's Kenny for you. A bit rough on the edges but a brilliant comforter when he needs to be. Hell, he helped me out with my divorce." 

"Man's a Godsend." 

AJ looked confused. "What does that mean?"

"A helpful person," Lee answered. AJ's mouth parted into a sort of 'O' shape. He wormed further into Lee's side.

"I hope Clem gets better." He said, clearly upset. 

"Hey," Lee smiled, "Your sister is strong. She'll be fine." 

Violet couldn't help but agree. Clem was made of some tough shit. If anyone could pull through losing a leg; it was her. She laughed silently to herself. Clementine was probably stubborn enough to regrow the damn limb. 


	2. 2

It had been two hours since Violet had been kicked out of Clementine's room. Lee and AJ had fallen into a deep slumber, their snores loud and disruptive. The blonde couldn't stop thinking about what happened earlier. It was her fault Clementine was had lost her leg. It was her fault Clementine was in that room. It was her fault that Clementine had a panic attack. Her leg tapped against the white floor. Up and down, up and down, up and- 

She stopped. Taking a short breath in a desperate attempt to calm herself down. She shouldn't be feeling like this. Violet stared at the door. Her girlfriend was in there, legless, and she couldn't help but feel like she was to blame. Stressfully, she pushed a hand through her hair, clutching at the ends and pulling roughly. She didn't care if it hurt. Clementine was in more pain. What rights did she have to complain? 

It should be her in that fucking room, not her angel of a girlfriend. Never should've been Clementine missing a limb. Violet's fingers twitched, clenching around the cheap plastic armrest of the bench. She was itching to get in there. To see her girlfriend. Even for a little bit. 

Lee had offered her some of his reassurance but... 

Shouldn't he be more desperate to get in there? He was Clementine's dad after all. Adopted or not. It didn't matter. They were still family all the same. Hell, their relationship was stronger than the one she barely has with her dad. The homophobic bastard. She grinned at the memory of Clementine decking him for calling his daughter a 'carpet muncher'. Right before saying she was clean-shaven so there was nothing for Violet to munch on anyway. 

God, she was absolutely whipped but she loved it anyway. Violet chuckled, her shoulders bouncing. Yep. It was confirmed. She was one hundred percent whipped. 

She sighed and craned her neck back, letting her head loll uselessly on the wall. The clock ticked slowly and her mind blanked. Each second of waiting felt like an everlasting hour that dragged on and on. The wait was becoming unbearable and Violet had to resist barging in. She was sure it would interrupt whatever the nurse was doing but quite frankly she couldn't find it in her to care. 

She just needed to see her.

* * *

Clementine winced and rubbed her arm tenderly. The purple bruises from where the wires penetrated her skin were aching and sore. She watched as the nurse, who was struggling to carry the heavy load of medical equipment, hobbled across the room and placed them into a weird shopping trolley...thing. Jesus, nineteen and she still didn't know what that thing was called. 

The nurse grabbed the handle and began pushing it towards the door. She placed the back of her foot against and kicked it open, backing out of the room. Clementine watched, hearing the muffled voices of Violet and the nurse conversing. Her brow creased and she slipped the covers off her stump. She looked at it, eyes softening and tears brimming at the corner of the amber. She couldn't help but worry. How was she going to do her daily jogs now? How was she going to day to day tasks? This was going to change her life but not in a good way. 

She absently noticed that the bloodied bandage had been replaced. Clementine chuckled bitterly to herself. So that's why there was a wheelchair. 

Her head snapped to the reopening door and like a thunderbolt, she covered the -in her opinion- ugly stump. It was Violet. The blonde was looking at her, something depressing in her usual joyful green eyes. 

"Don't pity me," She said, watching as Violet sighed and sat next to her. 

"How do I answer that, Clem?" Violet murmured. 

"Don't," She replied, "I want a hug." 

Not soon after, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and her vision was obscured by a blindfold of yellowish hair. She felt Violet's chin rest on her shoulder and she placed her hands on the small of the other girl's back. Snaking her arm around Violet. 

"It feels weird; the leg. It's like it's still there but I know it's not." 

Violet nodded, "Phantom limb." 

"Phantom limb?" 

"Yeah... I did some research into prosthetics-"

"No. You don't have to." She pushed Violet away, separating the two but keeping her hands attached to the blonde's shoulder.

"What do you mean?" Violet inquired, cocking her head.

She sighed, "You don't have to buy me one. It's too expensive and it'll be a huge financial burden. We aren't exactly in the most stable of living conditions."

"I don't care. I want to. It's the least I can do for my badass of a girlfriend." 

She stared at the wall, conflicted and uncertain. Sighing, she smiled sadly, "Thanks..." 

"Hey," Violet stroked the side of her face, cupping the underside of her jaw, "What's up?" 

"Danger?" A meek, weak slimmer of a smile parched onto her face, gone as quick as it appeared, "I just... I hate it. It looks ugly and-" 

Violet looked at her guiltily, "Jeez, Clem, I'm sorry. This is- This is my fault." 

"What on Earth are you talking about?" She asked, baffled. 

"I could've moved. I could've done something." 

"Vi... This isn't your fault. I made that decision and I would do it again in a heartbeat. No hesitation." 

"But it should be me in that fucking bed, not you," Violet sniffled, "It should never be you..." 

Clementine raised her arms in slight surprise as Violet's head rested softly just above her collar bone. She could feel the bed of blonde shuffle as Violet found a comfortable position. Her arms dropped and she wiggled to the side, giving Violet more room on the bed. She could feel Violet's long legs snake and worm themselves between her one leg, brushing against the warmth of her stump. She hissed in more surprise than pain. Violet muttered a simple sorry. A sorry she brushed off. It was an accident anyway. 

"I was so, so worried. I don't know what I would do without you." Violet murmured into her ear, her voice soft and gentle. 

"Well, lucky for you, I'm not exactly going anywhere," She smirked playfully. 

"God, you always ruin the moment, don't you," Violet smiled, her head falling onto the pillow. "You know, as far as hospital beds go, this isn't too bad" 

Clementine hummed in thought, rotating her head to gaze lovingly into Violet's emerald eyes, "I don't know, the springs aren't the best. My back is going to hurt tomorrow." 

Violet swiftly plucked the other girl's lips, glowing red dashing up from her neck to her cheek. Flooding her face. Clementine grinned and pulled the blonde in further toward her chest. She planted her chin on Violet's hair and she definitely felt the intense heat of her girlfriend's blush when she grabbed a firm chunk of her ass.

What could she say? She'd always been a bit grabby and a bit of an ass woman. It was in her blood, and nowadays? Clementine knew she was going to be relying on her girlfriend more than ever. 

"I love you, Clem," Violet whispered from behind her barely moving mouth, her eyes sneaking closed. 

"I love you too," Clementine responded sleepily. Her thoughts drifted from her lack of a leg to the warmth that filled her heart whenever she was near Violet. The girl was like her rock, an anchor. An immovable force that protected her from the nightmares that she knew she was bound to suffer from. Just not today. Violet had made sure of that. 


End file.
